The single biggest day for for avocado is Superbowl Sunday. Avocado is a super food, providing you with heart healthy mono-unsaturated fats, just 250 calories and vitamins A, C, E, the B vitamins, as well as fiber and potassium.

You can scoop it from the skin using a spoon straight into your mouth. It’s just that good. Squeezing a few drops of lemons juice and a tad of salt make it even better. But for most of us, avocado equals guacamole dip. “Guacamole” is Aztec for “Avocado Sauce”, the original recipe calling for crushed avocado, tomatoes and salt.

Unfortunately today, many people settle for sub-par, store brought guacamole dips, which not only taste like bird droppings, but are also nutritional atrocities. We covered one such bastardization of the term guacamole a few months ago.

Today we’d like to offer you a quick recipe. This guac recipe takes less than a time-out to make and will have you dishing out a super bowl filled with a tasty dip that everyone can dig into with whole grain tortillas.

Ingredients:
6 ripe avocados
2 limes (lemons OK)
2 tomatoes (optional)
A bunch of chives
1 TBSP Dijon mustard (or more, to taste)
cilantro or Italian parsley (not a must)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. halve the limes.
2. peel and pit the avocados, immediately squeezing 2 lime halves over the the avocado meat to prevent browning. Optionally add the pits to the avocado mass, it seems to repeal the browning process as well.
3. dice two avocados into quarter inch cubes, and crush the rest with the back of a fork. place in in your super bowl.
4. dice the tomatoes. add to bowl.
5. finely dice the chives and cilantro. add to bowl.
6. add the mustard.
7. mix everything with a wooden spoon (or your hands).
8. taste. add salt and pepper (you’ll need a bit less than normal due to the mustard)
9. douse with juice of the second lime and refrigerate till game time.

Enjoy!

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1. Over 45 Million pounds of Avocado will be consumed today, Superbowl Sunday!

2. Avocado competes with buffalo wings and pizza as The Superbowl Food, thanks to a successful marketing campaign by avocado growers over the past 2 decades.

3. All Haas avocados are genetic replicas of a single tree planted in the Haas family grove in the 1920’s.

4. A shortage of avocados is looming this spring, due to the 2008 drought in southern California, where 90% of domestic Avocados are grown.

5. Have no fear, Mexican avocados will be here to supplant any shortage. In fact Mexico is the world’s largest Avocado producer.

6. Avocados are unique fruit. They have a high fat content, but this is a “good” fat – monounsaturated fat.

7. A whole avocado contains 200-300 calories and is a good source of vitamin A, C, E and the B vitamins, as well as fiber and potassium.

8. Guacamole is Aztec for “Avocado Sauce”, the original recipe calling for crushed avocado, tomatoes and salt.

9. Supermarket guacamole tastes plain bad. Avocados don’t store well, that’s why store bought guacamole needs a lot of help from food additives. Here is a sample list of ingredients you’ll find in a ready made container -
Food Starch,
Sodium Alginate (emulsifier – keeps oils and waters mixed together),
Xanthan Gum (increases viscosity),
Erythorbic Acid (retains food’s color) ,Potassium Sorbate (anti mold), Sodium Metabisulfite (anti spoilage)

Ouch.

Luckily, making your own guacamole is quick and easy. Spend ten minutes to make your own. The difference in flavor, let alone chemicals, is worth it:

Simple Guacamole Recipe (serves 4-8 people):

Ingredients:
4 ripe avocados
2 limes (lemons OK)
2 tomatoes (optional)
half a medium onion
1 TBSP Dijon mustard (or more, to taste)
cilantro or Italian parsley (not a must)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. halve the limes.
2. peel and pit the avocados, immediately squeezing 2 lime halves over the the avocado meat to prevent browning.
3. dice one avocado into quarter inch cubes, and crush the rest with the back of a fork. place in large bowl.
4. dice the tomatoes. add to bowl.
5. finely dice the onion and cilantro. add to bowl.
6. add the mustard.
7. mix everything with a wooden spoon (or your hands).
8. taste. add salt and pepper (you’ll need a bit less than normal due to the mustard)
9. douse with juice of the second lime and refrigerate till game time.

Enjoy!

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